Early cell-wall modifications of maize cell cultures during habituation to dichlobenil

Studies involving the habituation of plant cell cultures to cellulose biosynthesis inhibitors have achieved significant progress as regards understanding the structural plasticity of cell walls. However, since habituation studies have typically used high concentrations of inhibitors and long-term habituation periods, information on initial changes associated with habituation has usually been lost. This study focuses on monitoring and characterizing the short-term habituation process of maize (Zea mays) cell suspensions to dichlobenil (DCB). Cellulose quantification and FTIR spectroscopy of cell walls from 20 cell lines obtained during an incipient DCB-habituation process showed a reduction in cellulose levels which tended to revert depending on the inhibitor concentration and the length of time that cells were in contact with it. Variations in the cellulose content were concomitant with changes in the expression of several ZmCesA genes, mainly involving overexpression of ZmCesA7 and ZmCesA8. In order to explore these changes in more depth, a cell line habituated to 1.5μM DCB was identified as representative of incipient DCB habituation and selected for further analysis. The cells of this habituated cell line grew more slowly and formed larger clusters. Their cell walls were modified, showing a 33% reduction in cellulose content, that was mainly counteracted by an increase in arabinoxylans, which presented increased extractability. This result was confirmed by immunodot assays graphically plotted by heatmaps, since habituated cell walls had a more extensive presence of epitopes for arabinoxylans and xylans, but also for homogalacturonan with a low degree of esterification and for galactan side chains of rhamnogalacturonan I. Furthermore, a partial shift of xyloglucan epitopes toward more easily extractable fractions was found. However, other epitopes, such as these specific for arabinan side chains of rhamnogalacturonan I or homogalacturonan with a high degree of esterification, seemed to be not affected. In conclusion, the early modifications occurring in maize cell walls as a consequence of DCB-habituation involved quantitative and qualitative changes of arabinoxylans, but also other polysaccharides. Thereby some of the changes that took place in the cell walls in order to compensate for the lack of cellulose differed according to the DCB-habituation level, and illustrate the ability of plant cells to adopt appropriate coping strategies depending on the herbicide concentration and length of exposure time.